Strengthening Voices for Better Choices in Brazil Helping to free Acre of illegal logging Forest governance in Brazil Brazil, the world’s fifth-largest country, has the greatest extent of forest in the tropics. This includes nearly a third of the world’s remaining tropical rainforests, found mainly in the Amazon Basin. Partly because of its size, Brazil is the world’s leading mega- biodiversity country, with more than 56,000 recorded vascular plant species, 1,600 bird species and 77 primates. Deforestation rates in Brazil vary among the major forest biomes. The loss of the Atlantic rainforest, for example, has largely been halted and in places is being reversed. The dry forests of the central cerrado savan- nas, however, are shrinking at a faster rate than the more famous Amazon rainforests. Deforestation in the Amazon has declined in recent years, owing to greater government The Rio Negro, Brazil. IUCN Photo Library © Jim Thorsell action and falling prices for beef and soy- beans. As prices have rebounded, however, granting subsidised credit to ranchers and role in monitoring compliance with regula- so the pace of clearing for ranches and other farmers. These actions are all coordi- tions. Together with Brazil’s progressive cropland has re-accelerated. nated under the National Plan to Prevent and decentralisation of forest responsibilities over Though important, high commodity pric- Control Deforestation in the Amazon, run the past decade, the control and enforce- es are only part of the story behind defor- jointly by 13 ministries under the supervision ment of forest law is now almost entirely in estation. Large-scale infrastructure projects, of the office of the presidential Chief of Staff. state hands. weak and permissive land policies, corrup- A new Public Forest Management Law, Civil society participation is guaranteed tion, collusion and other factors all contribute approved in March 2006, introduced several by Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, and enabled to forest loss and degradation. Illegal logging mechanisms for regulating public forest use, by mechanisms at several levels. Nation- is a particular concern – recent official es- created the Brazilian Forest Service (BFS) ally they include the National Commission timates put the share of illegally harvested and established a national forest develop- on Forests (CONAFLOR) and the National wood in Brazil at between 64% and 93%. ment fund. Under the law, the BFS has reg- Commission on Public Forests (CGFLOP). Brazil has been taking a range of meas- istered almost 200 million hectares of public The scale and nature of Brazil’s forest ures to tackle deforestation and improve forest, of which 123 million hectares are problems, and hence the impact and effec- governance in the Amazon, including legal destined for community use. tiveness of these measures, vary from state reform, anti-corruption campaigns, improved The Public Forest Management Law to state. In general, the fight against illegal remote sensing technologies and expansion also allowed government bodies to manage logging continues to be hindered by a lack of protected areas. The federal government national, state and municipal forests directly, of human and financial resources, the size has also recently imposed stricter rules on and for the first time gave state agencies a of the forest resource, the absence of the FOREST CONSERVATION PROGRAMME state in large, isolated regions, and perverse 4° 72° 68° 4° Iquitos economic incentives. Strong civil society COLOMBIA n o participation, however, has been moving the a z A m i t a u forest policy agenda forward, balancing law J enforcement with strategic actions aimed at better forest governance. BRAZIL Strengthening voices for better choices In response to these challenges, the Inter- national Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched “Strengthening Voices for á r u Better Choices” (SVBC). Financed mainly by J u AMAZONAS the European Union, this global project aims Cruzeiro do Sul to test and promote improved governance r u s Mâncio Lima u arrangements that will engender sustainable 8° P 8° Feijó and equitable forest conservation and man- Pucallpa Tarauacá agement. In Brazil, one of six project countries Boca do Acre ACRE Sena Madureira globally, SVBC is pursuing this goal in Acre, RONDONIA Brazil’s westernmost state (see map). Acre is Porto Acre of minor territorial or economic importance, Rio Branco but it has been leading the search for envi- U c ronmental and social policy alternatives. a y a l Illegality plagued Acre’s forest sector i for many years up to 1999, when a con- servation-minded governor took office and Cobija launched a drive towards “forest govern- PERU os Chico Mendes Di e ment”. Inspired by Chico Mendes, the activ- Extractive Reserve d re 12° d 12° a ist and union leader who led a civic move- M ment against deforestation in the 1980s, the state has been strengthening its extractive BOLIVIA i industries (such as rubber and Brazil nuts), n e setting aside protected areas and creating B incentives for improving forest management. BRAZIL Cusco Roughly half of Acre’s territory is now in protected areas, and it has kept its aver- age deforestation rate to about 0.3% a year. 0 100 200 Km Nevertheless, Acre has not succeeded in 72° 68° lowering either total deforestation (541 km² LEGEND in 2005 compared with 441 km² in 1999), or its share of overall forest loss in the Brazilian International boundary Closed evergreen tropical forest Intensive agriculture State boundary Bamboo-dominated forest Amazon (2.9% in 2005 and 2.6% in 1999). Mosaic of agriculture and River degraded forest SVBC’s strategy in Acre is based on Semi-deciduous transition forest State/Provincial capital the belief that illegal logging is essentially City/Town Freshwater flooded forest Shrub savannah a problem of governance, not law enforce- ment. Furthermore, conserving forests and Land cover map of Acre, Brazil. Land cover is based on the Vegetation Map of South America, prepared under promoting sustainable activities must go the Global Land Cover 2000 Project (http://www-gem.jrc.it/glc2000/). beyond illegality per se, as some techni- cally illegal activities may be sustainable and SVBC is partnering with a wide range of its participation in Acre’s State Forest Coun- some legal activities unsustainable. local, national and international organisations cil and CONAFLOR. These considerations have led SVBC, to realise its goals. Besides WWF Brazil, it is together with its main partner, WWF Brazil, working with the Federation of Industries of SVBC’s achievements to develop a three-pronged strategy under Acre and the state government to develop Promoting better practices Together with the banner “Free Acre of Illegal Logging”. a stepwise approach to legality verification WWF Brazil and members of WWF’s Global This focuses on promoting better practices, and certification for forest companies. It has Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), IUCN has improving governance and creating respon- also established a partnership with the state helped to establish the SIM programme in sible markets. The overall objective is to government and several NGOs, including Acre. SIM, or Modular Implementation Sys- remove the incentives for unsustainable and Greenpeace Brazil, to jointly implement ac- tem, is a stepwise system aimed at enabling illegal activities, driving up their opportunity tions under the “Free Acre of Illegal Logging” forest companies to attain certification. Par- costs and increasing the attractiveness of banner. Locally and nationally, IUCN has ticipants commit to improving their manage- sustainable alternatives. been playing a role in policy making through ment practices and obtaining FSC certifica- 2 | Strengthening Voices for Better Choices in Brazil tion within four years. The programme also tional assessment of Brazil’s forest laws and My wish as director of Acre’s Wood Companies Union supports improved forest governance, gen- policies, and four thematic studies on the is to sensitize the whole sector to the importance of eration of knowledge and capacity building. needs of local institutions (related to govern- participating in the SIM programme, and to transform As part of the SIM programme, SVBC ance, forest policies, indigenous peoples the sector’s social and environmental profile. has concentrated on promoting business policies and economic instruments). — Jandir Santini and community participation, encouraging In the second phase, specific meetings President, Triunfo Veneers & government buy-in and support, provid- were held to discuss the issues raised by Director, Wood Companies Union of Acre ing training in certification, reduced-impact the studies and identify points for action. logging and administration of cooperatives, A seminar was organised in April 2008 to gramme “Cities Friends of the Amazon”). As and supporting audits of the action plans present the main findings from the national yet there are no federal or state legal mecha- prepared by SIM participants. The project and thematic studies, and to define the main nisms requiring Brazilian authorities to pro- has also contributed to formulating a Modu- elements of a civil society agenda. SVBC cure legal or sustainable timber. SVBC and lar Certification Standard for Community also played an active part in organising the Greenpeace have been working to establish Forest Management to encourage small and first International Congress on Community such a mechanism in Acre by raising aware- medium-sized enterprises to participate. Forest Management, held in Acre in 2008, ness and supporting a state working group To date, six logging companies, four and the state’s first seminar on environmen- to identify legal options. The first fruits of of which are in Acre, have joined the pro- tal licensing in 2007. this work have been commitments by Acre’s gramme. A number of community enter- These meetings have helped stakehold- state government and the city council of Rio prises are also preparing to join. ers to develop their thinking and positions Branco to purchase only legal wood.